CategoriesGratitudeObserveReframe your thoughts

People Are The Key

Have you ever walked into an empty building? Perhaps your office building on the weekend or school during summer holidays. People are the key. Otherwise those quiet, soulless locations just echo with memories past.

People create the buzz, the energy and the excitement. It is their being that breathes life into a situation or place. Although locations can conjure up strong memories, the strongest ones often involve people.

I recall walking into my secondary school, during the summer after graduation. My footsteps echoed in the halls. After 5 years there, it seemed like I would bump into someone. But there was nothing. Just the ghostly quiet and silent cacophony of days gone by.

There was a deep sense of melancholy and a yearning for those days again. The friendships and silliness. The final and laughter. The challenges, struggles, wins and memories. Those halls are filled with people who will live in your mind forever. They are frozen in time. Slow motion. Black and white. Fast forward, Colour. Echo.

Best friends or sworn enemies, there was a place for everyone. And without anyone, there was just a building. Empty rooms and hallways. The place had seen tens of thousands of student faces over the years. But ours were the only ones that lived in our minds. friendships for a lifetime.

People are the key.

0
CategoriesActionObserveReframe your thoughts

Make Up A Story

You do this anyway. Most people do. Something happens and then we decide why it happened. We make up a story that suits our belief system.

This always happens to me. Rich people are greedy. They are a real jerk.

Those are just some of the many common phrases people use to help fill in the blanks of the story. Some of the words, phrases and sentences we use are learned from others. However, sometimes they come from our inner critic.

Notice when you do this. Not only when you add more to your own stories about you or others, but also when other people do it. Get curious about word selection and order.

Become aware of how people around you speak. If you are not feeling empowered by their words, you might want to reduce your exposure to them. Distance yourself, or become just like them.

As for your inner commentator, give them a name and then tell them to go have a nap. You don’t need some random voice in your head berating you or creating drama by adding inaccurate comments to stories.

Create powerful stories in the place of the less helpful ones. Use ‘I am’ statements and let your spirit soar. Be delighted by the stories you hear and tell. If they are going to be fabricated anyway, make them empowering.

Go ahead, make up a story.

1+
CategoriesActionGratitudeObserve

It Takes Just One

A person, an idea or an experience can change your whole life. However, they don’t actually do the change. You will do this later. It takes just one encounter, word or situation to see something differently and shift your whole perspective.

The perception shift makes all the difference. You can begin your journey from hate, disappointment and depression to more positive vibrations and outcomes. Of course, this whole thing can go the other way too. You can be knocked off the top of your tree and spiral downwards out of control.

We want you to be spiralling upwards and continue on that trajectory. Additionally, I don’t want you to ever experience the opposite.

With that said, I am confident you have seen this idea play out in your own life and in that of others around you. It’s exciting that you can have that one conversation and the aha button is hit. In addition, a whole new world has been opened up to you. And you can decide to jump into it, all anxious and excited, or just let it slip away.

Finally, search out these life changing moments. They are not as rare as you think. And, every time you have one, you could end up on a completely different trajectory. And, with a bit of luck, I hope it is a better one each time.

It takes just one. Watch out for it and others!

0
CategoriesFinancialGratitudeObserveReframe your thoughtsTimeVideo

Life Is Like A Movie

Have you noticed how things in certain movies become things in life? Remember the swish swish of doors in Star Trek? Life is like a movie, though only certain ones at certain times.

So when I was growing up, the swish swish of the doors on the Starship Enterprise seemed so futuristic. However, now most metro centres have thousands of these doors.

Then things started to unfold like the Schwarzenegger film Total Recall. The whole idea of virtual reality. We are getting there with Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence. We certainly have driverless cars on the near term radar. And trips to Mars being scheduled.

Then we have seen some elements of Tom Cruise’s Minority Report. People are being condemned for even thinking of an activity with a criminal element. It doesn’t matter if a crime has happened. The fact that it could have happened is enough for you to be removed from society.

Now things are moving on with skins in Fortnite and a virtual world in Clubhouse. This and the VR makes me think that the Ready Player One reality is not that far off from our current life.

Finally, we have Terminator. Well, that melting man business and pulling yourself back together is quite impressive. But happy for it to be a few more years before that.

Life is like a movie. Go get the popcorn ?.

0
CategoriesActionObserveThink About ItTimeVideo

Recorded History Obsession

There is something wonderful about keepsakes from our past. Equally it is nice to keep tapes and videos. Although a recorded history obsession seems to be getting a foothold in modern culture.

I suppose it started with chiselling into some clay tablets. Then things moved to the printing press and recorded music. That was a nice time. Not too many newspapers, books, or musicians traipsed about. So not much was recorded.

Then we moved to making films. And then tv shows. Some started live. Then some shows did pre-recordings.

After that came VHS, Mixed tapes, CD’s, DVD’s, digital photography, books, ebooks, audio books, box sets, etc. Things were further complicated by CCTV, social media and email. Everything we did was being recorded. Even our ring doorbell footage needed to be stored in the cloud.

I have so many photo and video clips, that I am not sure I would ever look at them all again. It would take days if not weeks. We are so awfully busy capturing moments of our life, that we lose our life reliving those moments.

Memories are wonderful. But do we need to remember everything via recordings? Will we ever have enough time to watch it all? Or only when we are very old and the information no longer useful.

This recorded history obsession may need to slow down to preserve mental health.

0
CategoriesActionGratitudeObserveReframe your thoughts

Perceived Value

Most people stay at a hotel so that they can get a night’s sleep in a bed. So other than the bed, does anything else matter? The perceived value is different for different people.

Some people would like more than the bed. They may wish to have a private shower, toilet and washbasin too. Lots of people require a specific level of cleanliness also. Others still, need a large room and blackout blinds.

But all of this may be irrelevant if the customer does not get a good night’s sleep. There are so many factors that affect perceived value. There are too many to list out in this short blog. However, it does seem to prove the point that beauty or value is in the eye of the beholder.

Think of all the factors that go into selecting your milk from a shop. It might be brand, taste, price, size or position on the shelf. That is from a product that is quite basic too. Imagine if there were lots of other factors like when considering a degree course.

A course is quite personal to you. You need to like the brand, the teacher or instructor, the topic, the location and the timings, to name a few key elements. Some people will pay $10,000 for a course with a specific outcome from a specific teacher.

Others will attribute little or no perceived value.

0
CategoriesGratitudeObserveReframe your thoughts

Life Before Electricity

What was that like? Imagine how many things in your life would be quite different right now. It’s staggering. Imagine life before electricity.

So you would not be able to use your lights at your house. There would be no television, radio or mobile phones. Yes, it is starting to look a little bleak.

You wouldn’t have a battery in your car. And there would be no batteries in your game. Street lamps would not exist. Nor would integrated fire alarms. Driving on unfamiliar roads would require a physical paper map. No Tom Tom would be there to help you.

Electric cars would not be a thing. They wouldn’t run. Maybe a car made with a water based power source would exist. So many endless possibilities.

Could you live in a time without electricity? What would you miss the most? What would you miss the least?

Electricity is so fun to have around. It’s the life of a party. It would be shocking without it.

Spend one day without using electricity and see how you get on. You might realise how truly valuable this commodity is. Sometimes we only come to this conclusion after we’ve tried the hardship exercise.

It’s hard to imagine life before electricity.

0
CategoriesActionGratitudeHealth & FitnessObserveProgressReframe your thoughts

Choose Discipline Or Disaster

Discipline sounds so strict. It has echoes of an unwavering sergeant major accepting nothing but your best. She asks you to choose discipline or disaster.

I have seen this in my personal life. If I am not disciplined about something, it can turn into a disaster. Now disaster is a relative term here as there are many stops on the road to disaster, but I think you understand what I mean.

Take the early morning alarm scenario. If you are disciplined, you can wake up on the first go. Then you can get ready as planned and and be where you should be on time. Alternatively, you can hit the snooze button a few times and then find yourself late for the rest of the day. This is sometimes the beginning of many disasters.

If your sports team is not good about their discipline, they may not build up sufficient strength and stamina before a match. This lack of discipline could result in a disaster. This could be a terrible score or perhaps some unnecessary injuries.

Of course, with a bit of discipline, you can find some amazing results. You don’t have to be perfect, but consistency helps.

Choose discipline or disaster. The former has more upsides.

0
CategoriesActionHealth & FitnessObserveThink About ItTime

I Can See The Future

Predicting the future is a funny game. We do think we are pretty good at guessing what will happen next. I can see the future and it looks exciting!

The key to understanding predications is the following. The more control you have over the process, the more likely the outcome. So, for example, the lady running the roulette wheel in a casino has more control over the outcome than you. It depends on how she spins the wheel and throws the ball. You have no control.

You have more control with blackjack, though the deck is stacked against you. However, a diet and exercise regime is heavily in your control or sphere of influence. So you can see the pounds melt away through reduced calories, body toning and strengthening. All in your control.

So now do that with your life. Look deep into the future. Imagine the infinite possibilities. Where would you like to end up? If you could choose anywhere, and you can, where would it be?

So decide what you are looking for and then go after it. Be sensible, make a plan, take provisions and be hopeful. Then start. The road may be a little rocky at first. But stick with it. Slowly but surely you will get there.

I can see the future. And now I am going to make it happen.

0
CategoriesGratitudeObserveReframe your thoughtsTime

Keeping Life Simple

Do you have the secret? Is there any way to do it? Everyday there is a new deluge of information and items to address. Keeping life simple is no easy feat.

Each day you will have to deal with more things. Today I received some Council Tax bills for some of our properties, a home insurance renewal notice and some yummy looking food pamphlets. (I imagined the food to be tasty, not the actual pamphlets themselves.)

So recycle one pamphlet but keep another. Where to put it though? We put it on the fridge as we intend to use it this week. The other envelopes I opened and made some notes on them. They then found themselves in our Tickler file. This is a filing system we learned from David Allen, who wrote the book Getting Things Done.

When used correctly, it is an awesome and powerful filing and tidying system. When it isn’t, it is the equivalent of the stationary bike as clothes horse.

We also received a delivery of a shower system. Life is a continual in-tray of things to sort, sift and solve. The quicker you can systematise or delegate, the happier you will be.

Look, those items come in the same time every year. Like Christmas, Easter and July 1st, they come around every year. Plan for them,

Keeping life simple will make you smile.

0